Welcome to Sherwood
by MasterOf4Elements
Summary: A series of fanfictions inspired by the legend of the great Robin Hood. (mostly Robin/Marian romance)
1. A Visit by Moonlight

Lady Marian Fitzwalter breathed a sigh of relief as she settled back into her bed at Knighting Hall. She smiled softly as she could hear the faint sounds of her father's snoring coming from his room downstairs. Other than that the night was silent. No high-pitched chirps of crickets or other creatures who made their presence known in the darkness. Even the air itself seemed different.

But what was different about this night that set it apart from every other night?

"Robin's back," Marian whispered to herself. She rolled over onto her side and pulled her quilt up to her chin. _No, no. I won't think of him….that….that…._

Marian tried not to cry. She was a grown woman after all and crying over such silly things was something only children would do. Five years had passed since Marian had last seen Robin face to face, though he often appeared to her in her dreams. She had been much younger, more foolish...a different person then.

Robin was different then too. War in the Holy Land had changed him, though some would argue it was for the better. It made him become Robin Hood, the hero that they loved. In reality…or at least in Marian's mind, he was a fool who thought he could change the kingdom by giving up his own freedom less than a day after coming home from battle.

Suddenly a thud at her window startled Marian. She sat straight up with a sharp gasp. She huffed realizing the figure was only a threat to himself and not to her.

"Robin, what the hell do you think you're doing?" she hissed as the young archer swung his way into her room using the window frame.

"Lady Marian! Does your father known you use such language?" Robin tisked at her. He grinned and gestured to her bare breasts. "Lovely nightgown by the way."

Marian jerked her bed linen up and clutched it to her chest. She glared at her former lover. "Get out."

"I want to talk to you."

"So visit me in the day like a normal human being would, or is asking you to be normal too much for you to handle."

"You know that I cannot come to you in the day and risk being spotted by one of the sheriff's men."

Marian rolled her eyes. "Well, that's certainly not my problem. I'm not the outlaw."

"Still full of that spirit I…"

"Just get on with what you came here for," Marian said, gritting her teeth and rolling her eyes.

Robin sighed and sat down on the edge of Marian's bed. "Why are you so angry with me, Marian?"

Marian closed her eyes to gather her thoughts and opened them again. "Robin, please. Now is not the time."

Robin decided not to press the matter. "I need your help, Marian. We've always been good together….working side by side that is."

Marian sighed. "What is it that you need me to do?"

Robin grinned happily. "I can no longer be at the council meetings. I need someone I can trust to be my eyes and ears there. Will you do it?"

"Can you not sneak about the castle?"

"Only at night, and only to see you, my dear," Robin said with a smug smile.

Marian rolled her eyes once again. "Years later and you're still full of yourself."

Robin bit his lower lip unable to contain his clever remark. "You know, you could be full of me t…"

Marian reached behind her and grabbed her pillow. She hit Robin in the head with it. "Out!"

Robin chuckled and stood up. "And with that I bid you good night my lady."

Marian watched as Robin climbed back out her window. Wrapping in her blankets she hurried over to the window to watch as her old friend disappeared into the forest.


	2. Come With Me

It was yet another strangely silent night when Robin came to visit Marian, this time in her quarters at Nottingham castle where she had been living since her elderly father tragically passed away the month before.

Robin had begged Marian to come stay in Sherwood with him, but Marian felt her place was at the castle being Robin's eyes and ears on the inside. Still it hadn't stopped them from visiting with each other, especially under the cover of darkness. Their stubbornness had thawed and the two had finally allowed their feelings of love to be known. A love that had never truly gone away, no matter how strongly they had tried to deny it was ever there. Marian was Robin's and Robin was hers.

So as he had several times before, Robin snuck into Marian's room to see her. He easily made his way through the darkened castle having disguised himself as a guard. He crept into Marian's room, smiling when he saw she was sound asleep. He walked over and tapped Marian on the nose to wake her up. She gasped as she opened her eyes, but relaxed when she saw her lover's smiling face hovering over her.

"You are beautiful when you're sleeping," he told her with a playful grin.

"Is that supposed to be romantic?" Marian asked, trying to hide how he made her blush.

Robin slipped out of the armor he had stolen and sat down on the bed with her. He began to take off his boots as Marian continued talking.

"This is dangerous you know," Marian said as Robin kissed her cheek. "Now more than ever."

Robin's smile melted into a frown. "What's wrong?"

Marian closed her eyes and sat up, not bothering to hide the fact she was sleeping in the nude. "Robin…I….we're going to have a baby."

Robin swallowed, his mind rapidly trying to process what he had just heard.

"A baby?" he questioned, as though the word was foreign to him. "How? I mean, I do know how, but….Marian, a baby? How long have you known?"

"Since this morning for sure, though I've suspected it nearly a month now," Marian said. "Djaq confirmed it just today."

"Djaq knows and she did not tell me?"

"I asked her not to, Robin. I wanted to be the one to tell you the news," said Marian. "Perhaps if Djaq had told you, you would not be so angry."

"I'm not angry, Marian. I've barely processed it," Robin standing up. He began to pace back and forth and across the wooden floor of Marian's bedroom, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You're pacing. You do that when you're frustrated."

"I also do it when I'm thinking," Robin said. "This is different than anything we've been through. I don't have a plan for this one."

"Not even half a plan?" Marian joked.

"Maybe between the three of us we can figure something out."

"I hope so," Marian said. "I know cannot do this alone."

"I don't intend for you to. This is my child after all," Robin said, a playful smile tugging at his lips. "It is my baby, isn't it?"

Marian scoffed. "Yes of course this is your baby, Robin."

Robin grinned widely, allowing the fear of the uncertain to fade away and the joy of the knowledge he was going to be a father to set in. He crawled into bed with Marian and pressed a gentle kiss into her hair. He hesitated a bit before placing a protective hand on Marian's belly.

"Come away with me tonight," Robin said. "I don't want you staying here. It is too dangerous."

"How would I explain my going away? Guy and the sheriff would be even more suspicious of me."

"This isn't exactly something we can hide for very long," he said, knowing within a matter of weeks Marian would be showing. "How will you explain your growing belly to Guy?"

"Immaculate conception," Marian said dryly.

Robin chuckled. "And he'll believe that?"

"He believes I am in love with him and I'm not. The man's a bigger fool than even you."

"You could always marry him," Robin suggested, knowing Marian would never go for the idea. "Make him think the child is his."

"This child is Robin Hood's and there will be no hiding that," Marian said. "I can sense the rebellion in it already."

"You seem to forget its mother is the Night Watchman," Robin said. "Speaking of which that has to stop now."

Marian looked at him sternly. "I beg your pardon."

"You're pregnant," Robin said. "You can't risk being killed and it isn't healthy for a pregnant woman to be riding a horse."

"I think that is my decision to make, Robin."

"But you're making decisions for two now," Robin said. "And one of those two is half mine."

"I suppose I'm being selfish to want to continue my mascaraed."

"Not selfish," said Robin. "But our child is a priority above all else, even helping the poor."

Marian nodded. "I know that you are right, but if I am going to be more careful about things then you have to as well."

"I'm always careful."

Marian smiled and nuzzled her head against Robin's neck. "Clearly not or I would not be pregnant."

"Love is often careless."

"Your lines are getting worse by the minute."

"I am to be a father, Marian. Making terrible jokes comes with the territory."

Marian laughed a little too loudly, quickly covering her mouth. She sighed softly. "I wish that my father could see his grandchild."

"I believe that he still will from Heaven," said Robin. "So will your mother and my parents as well."

"I did not realize you were so religious Robin."

"I believe in God and I believe in Heaven," Robin said. "It's the in between that confuses me."

Marian smiled. "It is nice to think that they will guard over our little one."

"And us as well," Robin said. "My father used to tell me that my mother was watching over me, and whenever I felt a gentle breeze that was her telling me she loved me."

"Oh, Robin," Marian said with a gentle laugh. She kissed his temple. "You are capable of saying genuinely sweet things."

Robin smiled weakly. His mother had passed away giving birth to his younger sister when he was four. The baby unfortunately did not live through the night either. Marian's mother had died in childbirth as well. It was a fear that they would now push out of their head and pray for a healthy delivery for Marian.

"Now are you coming to Sherwood with me tonight or not?" Robin asked. "We can rest a bit and leave before sunrise."

Marian shook her head. "Do you really think the forest is the best place for a pregnant woman?"

"No, but it's far safer there than here under the sheriff's nose."

Marian gazed down at her lap. "I could go to one of the abbeys nearby. I would be welcome and safe there."

Robin closed his eyes and shook his head. "Marian, I'm not sure I could bear to be away from you for so long, especially with a baby on the way. Please come and live with me. The gang loves you and will except you straight away. In fact they keep asking when you will join us."

"I'm afraid I wouldn't be much help to you for the next several months."

"I don't keep you around just because you're handy with a bow. I do love you, you know."

Marian smiled. "I know that very well, Robin. I love you too."

"Please come with me," Robin said, rubbing Marian's arm.

"I will tell Guy in the morning I am going to one of the abbey's to become a nun. I will meet you in the forest then."

"He will try to stop you."

"If I'm gone in the morning with no explanation he'll be suspicious."

"So leave him a note," Robin said, his eyes pleading with her.

Marian bit her lower lip as she smiled. She slipped out of bed, grabbing her robe from the bedpost, and walked over to her desk. She began to write a short good-bye letter to Sir Guy.

"I'll help you pack," Robin said.

Within the twenty minutes Marian was changed, packed, and heading to Sherwood with Robin Hood.


End file.
